A new Shadow
by WickedAtHeart.21
Summary: It's a cold cruel leaf-bare and most of ShadowClan is starving to death. The other three Clans don't appreciate it when ShadowClan asks for help so they decide to attack. Rated for some form of violence.
1. Allegiances and prologue

Prologue

Mudfur scowled, glaring around the clearing with her one good eye. Where was that apprentice? She was an elder; she shouldn't have to request a meager piece of fresh-kill. Grumbling, she tucked her head back into the den. Onetooth was asleep, mumbling softly.

As Mudfur stalked past him, to her nest, she flicked her tail against his ear harshly, waking him. She settled into the damp moss of her nest as he turned toward her.

"Why'd you wake me, Mudfur? I was dreaming that I had-" His sentence was interrupted as he yawned, his last canine flashing in the dim light.

"Where's an apprentice with our food?" Mudfur growled. Before Onetooth could reply a small black tom walked in, his pale green eyes shining.

"We have no fresh-kill to give to you, Mudfur." He explained calmly. A yowl sounded suddenly in the clearing and Mudfur froze while Shadepaw ducked back out.

"What do you think is going on?" Onetooth asked, standing and stretching. He brushed his tail against Mudfur's shoulder to get her attention.

"Well, let's go find out," Mudfur meowed, following the urging of Onetooth's tail. Out in the clearing, Shadepaw sat with his mentor, Darkcloud who'd gone to the gathering.

Nightstar had only taken two warriors, along with Stormpelt, leaving everyone else to protect the camp. Stormpelt looked angry, but his fur was at least lying flat, which Mudfur couldn't say about Darkcloud and Lizardfur.

Mudfur walked closer, leaving Onetooth by the entrance to the elder's den. Toadtail walked up to her side, the senior warrior walking with her to the four cats who had returned.

Pinefoot trotted up to Stormpelt's side and brushed her tail against his flank. Their kits, Graykit and Stripekit, peered at them from the nursery.

Nightstar moved out of the small circle of cats to the Highstone, a large boulder on the edge of the clearing, near the medicine cat's den. She didn't have to call for the Clan to come together, most of the cats had been brought out of their dens by Darkcloud's previous yowl.

Mudfur had settled herself, Toadtail on one side of her, when Cloverpelt sat roughly by her other flank. She couldn't help herself when she shied away slightly. Even Mudfur had to admit her old apprentice was sharp.

Nearby Fernpaw walked out of her den, eyes sleepy. "What's going on?" She asked around a yawn. Her mentor, Toadtail, shushed her and made her sit down.

"Before the gathering tonight," Nightstar began, "I had talked with my senior warriors and Stormpelt. We'd all agreed on a decision, no matter how risky, that might help to save us." Nightstar paused briefly, wrapping her tail around her paws. Mudfur twitched her whiskers; the she-cat loved drama. "We are in the midst of one of the harshest leaf-bares we've ever been through. We are starving. At the gathering, I saw sleek, fat RiverClan warriors. When I spoke, I suggested that Pebblestar have a few warriors teach some of us how to fish."

Another pause while she waited for the collective murmur that swept through the cats to die down. Stormpelt glared at the ground by his paws. "They said no," Nightstar meowed when she could. "WindClan and ThunderClan sided with them, saying we were pushing the boundaries set by the warrior code. It's best to prepare for a fight."

"What?" Pinefoot's cry rang out as she dashed across the clearing to sweep her kits back inside the nursery and out of the cold.

Lizardfur spoke up, stopping more protests, "I heard Streamfoot and Rockwing saying we needed to be put back in our place."

"It's almost a promise they're going to attack," Darkcloud hissed, her tail lashing.

"Let's attack them first!" Fernpaw shouted, earning a cuff over the ears from Toadtail.

"For now let's just send out a border patrol." Nightstar meowed before jumping down and going to her den.

Stormpelt stood up. "Cloverpelt, take Toadtail and Fernpaw on that border patrol with you. Go quickly."

Cloverpelt nodded and stood, her pelt brushing against Mudfur's. Before the gathering patrol could head off though, Onetooth stood. "I'll go with you, help stretch my legs," He spoke, following them out of camp.

Blackstorm and Specklepaw came in just as Stormpelt was arranging a small hunting patrol to try and find food. Blackstorm held a small rabbit.

"It was sleeping through leaf-bare in a hollow tree near the ThunderClan border." Specklepaw explained, her tail twitching proudly.

Blackstorm split the rabbit between the warriors still in the clearing, saving a little for the border patrol. There was a brief break in conversations and orders as the fresh-kill was eaten.

"Now that we're done," Stormpelt licked his muzzle, "Lizardfur, take Darkcloud and Shadepaw out to hunt."

Lizardfur nodded, taking the two cats to try and catch some small food. Blackstorm stretched out next to Mudfur, after being caught up on the gathering and the coming battle.

"I'll be joining you and Onetooth after this," he meowed before licking his chest.

"Specklepaw will be a warrior after this battle, won't she?"

"She should. So will Fernpaw and Shadepaw… Nightstar should be proud of her kits." Blackstorm stopped grooming and leaned against Mudfur's side, enjoying the peaceful moment.

A yowl outside camp shattered that peace. Both the hunting patrol and the border patrol bounded back in. Nightstar shot out of her den, running to the center of the clearing.

"They're coming!" Lizardfur panted, the cats of both patrols nodding along with her.

"Which Clans?" Nightstar asked.

At the same time Stormpelt meowed, "Whose leading them?"

Onetooth stepped forward, "Swiftstar, Oakstar, and Pebblestar. All three Clans are coming to attack us."


	2. The attack

"All three Clans are coming to attack us."

Nightstar and Stormpelt both stiffened. Nightstar stepped forward, "I want some of you to go to the training clearing, by the swamp. It's open and the other warriors won't be used to fighting in the mud."

"Stormpelt," the she-cat turned to her deputy. "I want you to take Lizardfur and Toadtail and try to lead them into the area by leaving a scent trail. Don't let them catch up with you and keep them away from camp." Stormpelt nodded and gestured with his tail. Lizardfur and Toadtail followed him out of the camp. Fernpaw made a move to follow, but Blackstorm stopped her.

"Darkcloud, take Cloverpelt, Shadepaw, and Fernpaw to the clearing, wait for Stormpelt's patrol to lead the enemies there." Nightstar nodded to the warriors who dipped in return and stood, her patrol following her.

"Finally, I need you, Blackstorm and Specklepaw, to stay away and help keep the camp safe. Pinefoot, Mudfur, and Onetooth will help." Nightshade turned, looking all the remaining cats in the eyes.

The only thing Mudfur could see clearly was Nightstar's ribs, standing in stark contrast in her fur as she walked out of the camp to go to battle. Something in Mudfur said this was the last time she would see her leader.

Mudfur stretched and walked back inside the elders' den, preparing to wait for a while. Onetooth followed her in, as well as Blackstorm. The three cats settled together, waiting for what they all felt was to be the end.

It had been Moonhigh when Nightstar had left camp, her tail high. Now dawn's light was spilling over the horizon. Mudfur could hear the squeals as Specklepaw entertained Graykit and Stripekit in the clearing. Pinefoot scolded them occasionally, but those were the only other sounds besides the yowling of battling cats.

A scuffling at the camp entrance caught Mudfur's attention and she jumped up, dashing out of the den and halting between the kits playing and the entrance, waiting with unsheathed claws.

Mosspool trotted into camp, her cream pelt covered with bits of leaves. "I heard the battle and I had to find the long way around." She meowed around the bundle of leaves she was carrying. Mudfur nodded and sheathed her claws as the she-cat passed to her den.

Onetooth and Blackstorm relaxed too. They hadn't jump out like Mudfur, but they had stood and unsheathed their claws, ready to fight. The two toms walked out and sat by the rest of the warriors left in camp; the kits still scratching around in the dirt with Specklepaw.

Before Pinefoot could scold them again, Stripekit walked up to Blackstorm, trying to show off a fighting move that Specklepaw had shown him. He ran past Graykit, using his forepaw to make a blow that swept her paws out from under her. He turned quickly and ran past again, this time drawing his paw across his littermate's soft underbelly, claws sheathed.

"Ahh, the belly-rake. Good move, but a little advanced for a kit." Blackstorm meowed, amusement glittering in his green eyes.

Noise sounded outside the camp and the warriors all stiffened. Mosspool even stuck her head out of her den, surprised. Battle yowls still rang, though slightly quieter. Pinefoot picked up Stripekit by his scruff and ushered Graykit into Mosspool's den, dropping off Stripekit too.

The she-cat planted herself in front of the den, to protect her kits. Blackstorm and Specklepaw got closer to the entrance while Mudfur stood, her shoulder brushing Onetooth's.

This time it wasn't an overreaction. A yowl sounded outside camp, not a ShadowClan yowl. Cats rushed in, crowding around from all sides. A hiss slid out of Onetooth's mouth before he jumped onto the back of a black tom cat. Mudfur snarled at a ginger she-cat as she latched her claws into the other cat's pelt.

Stormpelt's head pounded as he opened his eyes and look around. He had been attacking the ThunderClan deputy, Rockwing. Apparently the gray she-cat had gotten in a blow to his head, because he had lost consciousness. There were a few cats' bodies lying around that Stormpelt sadly recognized.

He started lining up the bodies to be honored and sent to StarClan. There was a ThunderClan cat and a RiverClan cat that he dragged to the far side of the clearing. He also found the dead bodies of Toadtail and Lizardfur side by side.

Stormpelt felt the urge to grieve, but fought it off. He had to find out what happened to his leader and Clanmates. He licked a stray drop of blood that had fallen from a cut on his shoulder and pricked his ears.

A small mewling echoed from behind a nearby bush and Stormpelt walked over, peering behind the broken winter branches. Darkcloud lay, curled around a small black tom. "Shadepaw." Stormpelt whispered. Darkcloud didn't respond, still curled around her first apprentice.

Stormpelt padded away, figuring to come back later. Nightstar was probably lying around healing somewhere. She had only been on her third life, having lost the first two to the same bout of greencough. Stormpelt parted his jaws, the air brushing across his scent glands as he looked around.

He latched onto a fresh bit of the leader's scent and followed it. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious for, but the battle wasn't long over. He followed the trail close to the ThunderClan border before it curved back around.

The trail stopped a few times, concentrating before moving again. There were other scents surrounding it too. Stormpelt recognized a few. There was Oakstar, the ThunderClan leader and Paleclaw, the WindClan deputy. At one of the concentrated places, Stormpelt stepped on a cold, wet leaf and he looked down, surprised.

Blood. The leaf was covered in blood. He kept walking. When he finally got to the last spot, he realized what the trail had been telling him, what he'd been ignoring. The spots where it stopped, where it concentrated, were spots where Nightstar had been killed by the cats chasing her. He counted back mentally as he curved around a bush.

There in front of him was the glaring truth. Nightstar's last seven lives had been taken this battle and her brutally torn and battered body lay at Stormpelt's feet. He started to drag the leader's body with him, gripping her scruff in his teeth.

He was about halfway back to the main clearing when Cloverpelt jumped out of the brush, hissing. She stopped once the recognition leaped into her eyes as she looked at Stormpelt, then at Nightstar. She nodded like she'd been expecting it.

Without saying a word the tortoiseshell she-cat gripped Nightstar's tail and helped take her to the clearing. Once there she turned to Stormpelt after assessing the bodies he'd already gathered.

"Fernpaw too… Have you been to camp yet?"

Stormpelt shook his head, "I'll go now, but Darkcloud is over there with Shadepaw," he flicked his ears in the direction of the dead bush. "When she's ready, help her move his body over here with the rest and come to camp. We'll assess the rest of the dead and figure out our next move."

Cloverpelt didn't say anything, just nodded and padded over to the bush, leaving the tom to head back to camp alone.


End file.
